LE SLOGAN DU MMM «SAUVER L’ÎLE MAURICE, SAUVER LE PAYS»

As if the country is on the brink of an imminent disaster, the socio-economic situation of the country is in a desperate state, the country is in urgent need of a new leadership to put it back on the rails. This is the acknowledgement of Paul Bérenger «qui ne voit que du noir autour de lui» According him the country is crying for the general elections to set the house in order as though if he and Navin Ramgoolam had won the general elections in 2014, today the socio-economic climate of the country would have been rosy and the life of the inhabitants would have been better. He forgets that his alliance with the Labour Party of Navin Ramgoolam and his act of treachery to Sir Anerood Jugnauth were a blessing in disguise for the country. Luckily the electorate cast their votes intelligently by rejecting outright «sa trahison» and the abject leadership of Navin Ramgoolam.

«On a échappé belle! Tant mieux pour le pays et ses habitants.» Otherwise I wonder where we would have been today under another leadership of Navin Ramgoolam. Thank you, God for having helped the electorate « à faire le bon choix!» Otherwise the socio-economic of the country would have definitely taken a turn for the worse and «ladrog ti pou continye don bal» at the expense of our law and order. Fortunately the electorate saved the country by dumping them «dan karo kan.»

Mauritius is a blessed country. Each time the socio-economic climate of the country was being darkened by the leadership of the Ramgoolam (father in 1980 and son in 2014) a saviour was sent in the person of Sir Anerood Jugnauth, and now his son to redress the situation and put the country back on the rails.

Today Navin and Ton Polo are ill at ease in the political wilderness. Navin who adamantly refuses to loosen his grip on the leadership of the party is dreaming of a comeback to office again. Regarding Ton Polo «li nepli ena rol dan parlman, nek ABC.» He thinks that only he and his party can soi-disant save the country. He is dreaming like his chemistry friend. His pretentions that his party will face the polls alone verge on the ridicule. How can he be so pretentious as to visualize himself in the driving seat of the country in 2020 when we all know that his party does not carry weight with the rural electorate! In a three-cornered contest― MSM, Labour Party and MMM, his party does not stand the ghost of a chance of winning the elections, especially when we know that it is the rural electorate which decide the outcome of the polls. The rural electorate will make mincemeat of him and his party. Bérenger will have to come to terms with that reality.

Besides, his slogan «sauver l’île Maurice, sauver le pays» is utterly hollow. It does not hold water. Does the country need Bérenger, Duval and still less Ramgoolam to save it? The country is already on the rails of progress. Apart from law and order which is in bad shape with an upswing in crime and violence along with armed robberies which are directly concerned with drug trafficking, «le climat des affaires» is breathing health. The feel-good factor is already here. «The Good Country Index» of the United Nations ranks Mauritius in the first place on the African continent for its contribution to the welfare of its inhabitants.

Those who are clamouring for the general elections will have to cool their heels for two solid years before the country goes to the polls. The work started in 2014 is far from completion. The government has more than two years to complete its mandate before showing its achievements to the nation. Those who think that the government will call the country to the polls before the end of its mandate are simply dreaming. Bérenger has ample time to draw up the list of his 60 candidates before they board the Titanic in 2019/2020.

PRIZON 5 ZETWAL AVIZAZ IMIN

With such a prison it is quite normal if each month 600 prisoners are welcomed behind the bars. Our prisons have become more attractive than repulsive. It is unimaginable to imagine a country with a population of barely 1.3 millions with so many prisoners. It is really too much for such a small population. If that upward trend is maintained, more prisons will have to be set up to accommodate the growing number of prisoners. It is unbelievable that so many prisoners reoffend just to return behind the bars again. Certain prisoners have been jailed for more than 30 times. We are the only country in the world where prisoners are reluctant to go home after having served their sentences. The recent statistics reveal that 67% of our prisoners after their release relapse deliberately into an offence just to return in prison. Usually a prisoner looks avidly forward to his release and freedom because of the grim conditions of the jail life. «Chez nous, c’est tout le contraire.»

If today our prisons have to make room for 600 prisoners monthly, it is because we have a jail life which is really too soft and generous, where criminal offenders are given a royal treatment with a balanced diet coupled with fish, meat, eggs, chicken, (que du blanc de poulet), fruits and other privileges. According to statistics Mauritius, the State spends some Rs 750 per prisoner daily. The annual budget for the kitchen turns around Rs 51 millions. All these at the expense of tax-payers’ money. Today we have a prison which attracts instead of repels. We adhere too much to the principles of Human Rights.

Can We Reduce The Number Of Prisoners?

Yes, we can, provided there is a political will to do it. The jail life should be reviewed from top to bottom. The «5 star prison à visage humain» must disappear to make room for rigid prisons where the strictest minimum in term of comfort and food is given. Because so long as these criminal offenders are given a royal treatment with a balanced diet, there will not be any let-up in the rate of crime, violence and robbery. Life behind the bars must be keenly felt. The prisoner must feel the pinch of his imprisonment keenly to deter him from re-offending. If the status-quo is maintained, the number of prisoners will definitely jack up.

Law and order should be the basis of a civilized society. The socio-economic development of a country should stand cheek by jowl with its law and order. A country which is aiming at a high income economy like ours must set up the right climate where law and order can prevail to enable people to enjoy their wealth. Today with a society packed with robbers and criminal offenders, the security in the country has fallen to zero. We are heading in the same direction as South Africa where walking with a gold necklace round your neck has become synonymous with courting death.

Death Penalty And The Flogging System

If we want to have a livable society «ou il fait bon vivre», if we want to become the Singapore of the Indian Ocean not only in term of economy but also where security prevails, where people can move about without having to look over their shoulders to see if they are not stalked by danger, we shall have to overlook Human Rights, otherwise we shall be dreaming. If we follow Human Rights literally, we shall be paying a heavy price for it in term of our law and order. We shall have an unlivable society.

We have to set up safeguards against all kinds of violence. The existing laws have to be reviewed and made tougher, the prison life has to be made harsher. A system of bare back-flogging coupled with community work should be introduced for minor offences instead of a light term of imprisonment. Last but not least Capital Punishment should be re-introduced to clamp down on drug-trafficking and the rate of crime.

We have to set up a deterrent to keep down the number of prisoners in our prisons. 600 prisoners monthly «c’est beaucoup trop pour une population de 1.3 millions.» The only way to do it is to shift from a soft and generous jail life to a harsh one.

Commentaires

THE REALISM : Will Bérenger lead his party again to the slaughter-house in 2019/2020 ?

THE REALISM : Will Bérenger lead his party again to the slaughter-house in 2019/2020 ?

By Raj Paneken

It all depends on the dose of realism Bérenger will evince. With a by-election in the offing along with the General Elections in two years’ time, his Party can emerge either a winner or a loser. With a lack of realism on the part of the Party’s leadership, another iceberg is lying in wait for the Party again. That is why in my last article I wrote that Bérenger has all the time to finalize his list of candidates before they will board the Titanic in 2019/2020. The realism means that we look at things without blinkers. With a good dose of realism, the Party of Bérenger can avoid another political wreck. It is high time that Bérenger comes to terms with the reality. He must stop labouring under the delusion that his Party can face the polls alone and win the elections with him in the driving seat of the country. If he keeps on thinking in this line, he is merely dreaming.

The MMM has never won a general election alone and will never do it. This is the prevailing reality of the country. Each time Bérenger and his Party had been in the government, it was either in alliance with the MSM or the Labour Party. If he had made history by becoming prime minister of the country (2004-05), it was thanks to Sir Anerood Jugnauth who shared the primeministership of the country with him.

Today he and his Party would have been in the government again if he had not fallen into the trap of Navin Ramgoolam to torpedo the Remake 2000 which was heading headlong towards a sweeping victory. Today he would have made history again with a second primeministership in the place of Pravind Jugnauth. But unfortunately! He let the idealism have the upper hand upon the realism to make him what he has become today, a mere parliamentarian.

«Mais tout n’est pas perdu pour lui et son Parti» if he changes his tact. The Party can bounce back after its long stay in the political wilderness if there is a change from idealism to realism, especially his leader who has the last word. The MMM can find itself in the government again in an alliance with the MSM for the elections 2019/20. With a positive track record of the government at the end of its mandate, the MMM has every reason to hook up its wagon to the driving force of the MSM if it does not want to remain on the platform for another five long years.

The realism means that MMM is condemned to hook up its wagon to the driving force of MSM if the Party does not want to drag its feet again in the political wilderness. Another alliance with the Labour Party of Navin Ramgoolam will incur the opprobrium of the electorate which dumped them «dan karo kan» in December, 2014. They will suffer the same fate if ever they come together again. As for the PMSD, it is simply a wagon in search of a driving force. Besides, the two parties (MMM/PMSD) have never got on well together.

Therefore the only locomotive available for the elections 2019/20 is the MSM. Bérenger must come to terms with that reality if he wants to end up his political career with a flourish. «C’est à lui de faire le bon choix entre le corbillard et le convoi nuptial.» With an economic recovery, full employment along with an effective law and order, there is no doubt that the electorate will renew the mandate of the government. This is what the country needs, no more, no less. With a positive track record, a renewal of the government’s mandate seems quite obvious. You don’t change a winning team, but you can inject new blood into it. With the accommodation of the MMM (MSM/MMM), the government will simply be unbeatable for the elections 2019/20.

As a prelude to this accommodation, it is in the interest of the government, if it will not enter into the by-election fray, to give a tacit support to the MMM candidate to help her win the election.

Anyhow, let us hope that Bérenger along with his Party has learnt a lesson from their mismatch in December, 2014. Let us hope also that the government will take the MMM on board if it wants to win the General Elections 2019/20 hands down to complete the realization of all its dreams. An alliance (MMM/MSM) in 2019/20 will bulldoze all their opponents. With a new mandate with the MMM on board, the country will undergo an unprecedented transformation.

Today he is all set to put a spoke in his wheel. All of a sudden he becomes diametrically opposed to him. He becomes his bitter political opponent, not to say his enemy. He makes no bones that he is out to get his political scalp. He has been politically frustrated. It is said that politics is a dirty business, but in Mauritius it has a special dirtiness. In Mauritius politics has become synonymous
with «gros sous.» Enter politics and live in clover. The interests of the masses are pushed into the background while theirs and their kith and kin are given priority. They do politics to materialize their personal dreams, to become this or that. And Bhadain has the cheek to say that he is giving politics a new dimension, «faire de la politique autrement, mon œil!» I think that people have already cut him down to size.

Politics should be first and foremost serving the nation― «Don’t ask what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country,» dixit John Fitzgerald Kennedy. You have not been voted to become Minister of Finance or to achieve your personal ambition, but to work for the advancement of your country. And when you don’t attain your objective, you slam the door on the party and launch into a demagogic campaign against the very party which helped you to be elected.

Today he is talking about the deal «papa-piti» to express his utter disagreement with the primeministership of Pravind Jugnauth. He forgets that he had said that his «mission serait accomplie lorsque Pravind Jugnauth sera Premier Ministre.» «Il crache dans son assiette, le mec!»

Overnight their most cherished friend becomes their most hated opponent. At one go they forget all the praises they have showered on their friends and they start spitting their venom on them. They are bankrupt of ideology or they change it overnight to square their design. This is politics in my country. The by-election in No 18 has not its “raison d’être” because whoever wins or loses, the project of the Metro Express will not break down. The PM has made it unequivocally clear that «nul n’entravera sa détermination à faire avancer le pays,» in other words the government
shall not back pedal on the project of Metro Express to please Bhadain and other anti-Metro Express.

Besides, it is a sheer waste of tax-payers money which will cost the state some 20-30 million rupees which could be used for other purposes. Therefore, for all these reasons, I think that the electorate of the constituency No 18 «doit sanctionner Roshi Bhadain lourdementt.» I am sure that he will come out wiser that there is a price to pay for demagogy.